Academy Roundup - November 6

The Houston Dynamo Academy took on FC Dallas last weekend at the Houston Amateur Sports Park in the final matches in Houston before the Academy teams hit the road for a seven-game road trip. The Dynamo U-18s lost 5-0, while the Dynamo U-16s tied 1-1.

In the first match of the day, the FC Dallas U-18s got an early goal from Flavio Guzman and never looked back. The team netted two more goals before the half en route to a dominating 5-0 performance over the home club. Dallas was led by goalkeeper Richard Sanchez, who signed a professional contract with FC Dallas earlier this year before leading the Mexican national team to the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup championship. The Dynamo tested Sanchez early and often but were unable to net one past the promising goalkeeper. For the group of players who played on the U-16 team last season and moved up to the U-18 team this season, Sunday's loss snapped a nine-game unbeaten streak at the Houston Amateur Sports Park, dating back to April 30, 2011.

Following the U-18s' loss, the Dynamo U-16s took the field looking to build on last week's 2-1 victory over Classics Elite. Houston got on the board in the ninth minute off a Denzel Ward finish. Forward Carlos Ibarra put the Dallas goalkeeper under pressure after a backpass from his centerback, forcing the goalkeeper into an errant clearance. The ball went directly to midfielder Giovanni Najar, who found Ward open in the box. Ward took one touch and finished past the diving goalkeeper.

Both teams struggled to hold possession on a windy day at HASP. Although the Dynamo defense held strong against the Dallas attack, the visiting squad continued to push and found a late equalizer. In the 73rd minute, a Dallas midfielder sent a long ball into the Dynamo penalty box that hit the hand of centerback Scott Brown. Dallas was awarded a penalty kick, and U.S. U-17 national team defender Kellyn Acosta converted the penalty to even the match for the visitors. Acosta did not have much time to celebrate, though, as he was issued a straight red card for an errant tackle. The Dynamo were unable to capitalize on the man advantage for the remaining five minutes, and the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

In Pre-Academy League action, the Dynamo U-15s defeated FC Dallas 1-0 behind a goal from Christian Lucatero. The Dynamo U-14s fell 4-0 to FC Dallas, while the Dynamo U-13s won 2-1 with goals from second-half subs Gianluca Natera and Hector Ramirez.

All five teams will travel to Dallas this weekend for matches against Dallas Texans. The U-18s will kick off at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the University of Texas at Dallas, with the U-16s to follow at 4:30. The Pre-Academy games will take place on Sunday with the U-13s kicking off at 12 noon, the U-14s at 2 p.m. and the U-15s at 4 p.m. All games will be played at the University of Texas at Dallas.